10 Great Travel Moments in Movie History

Movie awards season is in full swing, and when we at TripAdvisor watch our favorite flicks, we can’t help but be inspired by how many popular storylines feature travel and epic journeys. While waiting for this year’s ballots to be tallied, we rounded up 10 of our favorite travel moments found in some of the most memorable award-winning movies of all time. Is your favorite cinematic travel scene not here? Add your pick in the comments below.

Warning: These scenes contain spoilers (!)

Casablanca (1942) – Rick and Ilsa part at the airport

Deciding to let go of the woman he loves, Rick makes Ilsa get on a plane from Casablanca to Lisbon with her husband, telling her she would regret it if she stayed. He tilts up her chin, looks into her crying eyes and utters one of the most famous lines in cinematic history: “Here’s looking at you kid.”

Sound of Music (1965) –The von Trapps flee Austria over the Alps

After singing “So Long, Farewell” at the festival concert, the von Trapps secretly flee Austria by night with the help of the nuns who have disabled the cars of pursuing Nazi soldiers. When the sun comes up the next morning, the Von Trapps are shown escaping to freedom over the picturesque Alps and into Switzerland.

Titanic (1997) – “I’m Flying, Jack!”

Enroute from Southampton, England to New York on the RMS Titanic, Rose seeks out Jack on the boat deck to apologize for refusing to listen to him earlier that day when he insisted that she break free from her harmful upper crust lifestyle. As the emotional, now-classic movie theme begins, Jack makes Rose close her eyes and guides her onto the railing of the bow of the ship. She opens her eyes, arms spread wide and exclaims, “I’m flying, Jack!”

Forrest Gump (1994) – Forrest runs across America

Forrest stands up from his porch chair and goes for a run that may go down as the most epic casual jog of all time. It starts a literal movement as dozens of people across the U.S. follow behind him until one day he suddenly stops, turns, and says “I’m pretty tired…I think I’ll go home now.” Thinking back on it he explains, “My mama always said, ‘You got to put the past behind you, before you can move on,’ and I think that’s what my running was all about. I had run for three years, 2 months, 14 days and 16 hours.”

The Wizard of Oz (1939) – Follow the yellow brick road

Glinda the Good Witch leaves Dorothy – now wearing the famed ruby slippers – sending her off to Oz with her little dog, Toto. Dorothy begins circling around the spiral where the road begins, repeating Glinda’s instructions – “follow the yellow brick road.” Breaking into song and dance, the Munchkins see that Dorothy gets safely across the Munchkinland border as she begins journey to meet the Wizard of Oz.

Up (2009) – Carl sets his house afloat

Trying to evade being forced into a retirement home, Carl releases thousands of helium balloons into the air, lifting his attached house high in the sky. Now afloat, Carl sits down while his house drifts toward South America. A knock at the door disrupts Carl’s relaxation and reveals scout Russell fearfully clinging to the porch. After some hesitation Carl decides to let Russell come aboard, beginning one of the most memorable odd-couple journey movies since…

Rain Main (1988) – Raymond prefers not to fly

Attempting to fly from the Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport to Los Angeles, Charlie pulls his brother Raymond across the terminal, but Raymond stops when he sees the plane outside the window and refuses to go further. When Charlie then tries to coerce Raymond onto the plane he begins screaming, leaving a drive across the country as Charlie’s only option and setting into play one of recent cinema’s most powerful road trips.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – “Nothing is written”

Near the end of a death defying journey across the Nefud Desert with the Turks, Lawrence notices that one camel does not have a rider. Sharif Ali says they should go on – “Gasim’s time has come, Lawrence. It is written.” Lawrence goes back anyway, leaving the audience guessing as to his fate. After minutes of suspense a speck appears on the horizon. It is Lawrence with weary-looking Gasim draped over the camel’s back. Sharif Ali offers Lawrence a pouch of water. Lawrence accepts, defying Ali’s words, “Nothing is written.”

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001) – “If I take one more step”

In order to protect the hobbits from Sauron’s evil agents, Sam and Frodo make their way out of the Shire and set off on their epic journey to Mordor. Suddenly Sam stops in a field amidst a scarecrow and says “If I take one more step, it will be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been.” Frodo reassures Sam, “Remember what Bilbo used to say, ‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

E.T. the Extra-terrestrial (1982) – Flying bikes

Being chased by authorities, Elliot rides toward the forest on his bike with E.T. in the basket. Elliot closes his eyes when they are almost at a dead-end and E.T.’s powers lift them flying into the sky. With his ship arriving, E.T. asks Elliot to come with him, but Elliot says he must stay. E.T. lights his finger, pointing at Elliot’s head and explaining that he’ll ”be right here” before leaving Earth for good.

It may not be possible to follow the yellow brick road, but many of these scenes are places you can visit. Check out these TripAdvisor traveler photos of places where you can relive some of the scenes above: